Measure expresses support for making oral contraceptives available over-the-counter, would guarantee health insurance coverage for oral contraceptives made available without a prescription

06.10.15 - (PRESS
RELEASE) Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) was joined by over 20 of her colleagues
today in introducing the “Access is Affordability Act”—a measure which would
ensure oral contraceptives approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
for over-the-counter use would be covered in health insurance plans without
co-pay. This policy builds on the tremendous gains made by the Affordable
Care Act (ACA) in guaranteeing no-cost birth control is covered by insurance
plans.

“In
a nation where nearly half of all pregnancies are unplanned, far too many
American women are facing an uphill battle in trying to control their fertility
and plan their families,” said Nancy Northup, president and CEO of the Center
for Reproductive Rights. “Senator Murray’s bill is a common sense
solution that would jumpstart the conversation around dramatically broadening
over-the-counter access to contraceptives for all women, regardless of age or
income. We look forward to working with the Senator, her colleagues, and
our partners in advancing this bold and critical policy.”

The
determination as to whether a drug should be made available without a
prescription lies with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). This bill
encourages manufacturers of birth control to apply to the FDA for
over-the-counter status, and for the FDA to review and approve any such
application if the product is deemed safe and effective for use without a prescription.
Most importantly, the measure would ensure that the millions of women who
currently have access to no copay contraception as a result of the Affordable
Care Act would maintain that coverage for over-the-counter birth control.

The oral
contraceptive pill is one of the safest and extensively-studied medications on
the market today, and medical experts agree that women can safely use the pill
without a prescription. The American College of Obstetricians and
Gynecologists (ACOG) issued a committee
opinion in 2012 which supported moving birth control pills from behind the
pharmacy counter, stating “OCs should be available over-the-counter.”

Nearly half
of all pregnancies in the U.S. are unintended or mistimed—one of the highest
amongst developed nations in the world. The Affordable Care Act made
historic advances in expanding no-copay health coverage for contraception. In
2013, women saved $483 million in out-of-pocket costs for birth control, an
average savings of $269 per woman. Yet too many women still face barriers to
accessing birth control—including the need to visit a provider to get a
prescription and the fact that birth control is only available when a pharmacy
is open. These barriers are especially high for women living in poor,
rural, and immigrant communities—where access to any health care services can
be sparse and the cost of contraception must be weighed against the cost of
other basic necessities.

Today’s
measure comes less than two weeks after Senators Kelly Ayotte (R-NH) and Cory
Gardner (R-CO) introduced S. 1438, the “Allowing Greater Access to Safe and
Effective Contraception Act,” a measure which also addresses over-the-counter
status for birth control but falls short in two key ways: the bill
precludes young women, and consequently those without ID, from accessing birth
control over-the-counter and fails to maintain insurance coverage for birth
control pills available without a prescription.

The Center
for Reproductive Rights led a decade long battle with the FDA to make emergency
contraception available without a prescription for women of all ages.
From a Citizen Petition filed in 2001 to a suit in federal court, the battle
eventually concluded when a federal judge denied
the government’s request to delay the availability of emergency contraception
for over-the-counter use.